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Help me build my first DIY desktop

post #1 of 60
12/12/07 at 12:50am
Thread Starter 
Hello people,

In February of 2008, I am going to build my first desktop and would like your help. February is my redeployment date to return to the states, so that leaves plenty of time for research and to pose questions here for you, the experts.

My objectives:
1) To build a quality gaming rig for absolutely under $2000
2) Aquire a case that needs little to no modifications, full size preferred
3) 17" screen is adequate, however I would like larger, maybe even a dual monitor system
4) SLI enabled (i hear there may be dual monitor issues)

From what I hear, I should be able to build a decent system within this budget; I would appreciate any points or starting configurations that you could recommend.....case, motherboard, power supply considerations, etc.

Thanks,
Darth
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post #2 of 60
12/12/07 at 12:57am
Only problem with this is that new stuff is literally around the corner.

There really is no way to give you any firm ideas at this point in time.
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post #3 of 60
12/12/07 at 1:06am
Thread Starter 
Got any ideas on a case?

are there gigantic improvments on motherboards in the next couple months?

I am not necessarily looking for the absolute best of anything, in fact when new stuff comes out, the other stuff usually gets cheaper, might be kinda cool having 2 8800 gtx ultras in an sli, if that makes sense
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post #4 of 60
12/12/07 at 1:18am
2,000 can get you alot of computer. I'll remember to get back to this thread and help you out. I'm on my phone right now.
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post #5 of 60
12/12/07 at 2:06am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GBrilliantQ View Post
2,000 can get you alot of computer. I'll remember to get back to this thread and help you out. I'm on my phone right now.
awesome thanks bro!
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post #6 of 60
12/12/07 at 4:02am
780i motherboard for SLI coming real soon.
The new 9000 series video cards are coming in Feb, which should lower the price down of those GTX's, Ultra's
Do you want a Quad Core or dual core? AMD, Intel?

What about Storage space?

From what I'm hearing the new high end 9000 series from nvida should be better than two sli ultra's, with just a single card. Something to think about..

Screen size? You can go higher than 17in. I'd say 22-24in would be the sweetspot.

What about the OS? Vista, XP both? linux ?
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post #7 of 60
12/12/07 at 8:47am
Alrighty, February is actually quite a good month to pick if I do say so myself.

So this is what I would configure with $2000.

Thermaltake Armor 25cm fan: full tower
Penryn Q9450
500gb 7200rpm HD
9800GTS/GTX depending
780i motherboard because of you + SLi
Thermalright HSF, best in the air cooled business
Corsair 2-4gb ram
OS

We'll have to work around the stuff depending on your alloted money for say a monitor, OS, storage space etc
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post #8 of 60
12/12/07 at 9:21am
$2K will indeed build a monster - but as stated above, there are ALOT of new techs coming in the next couple of months.

You can go ahead and pick up all supporting components, ie. case, hard drives, power supply, fans, optical, sound, keyboard, mouse, RAM, OS, speakers, etc.

Both GBrilliantQ and myself are in the middle of system builds, waiting for new motherboards, video cards, and processors. And from the looks of it, we are waiting for identical items.

My starting recommendations:

Case - Cooler Master Cosmos $170 (if the size isn't too big)
The Cosmos is, hands down, the best case I've ever seen. It was just too big for my build.

Power Supply - PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750 $160
IMHO, the absolute best power supplies on the market.

Hard Drives - Samsung Spinpoint F1s
New technology from Samsung. Blazing fast.

Optical - a 20x DVD Writer (around $30)
20x is currently the fastest DVD write speed.

RAM - DDR2 OCZ Reaper or Crucial Ballistix PC8500 or above
(wouldn't suggest DDR3 yet, price vs performance does not warrant)
OCZ, my personal favorite, has a lifetime warranty on thier RAM. If needed, their RMA and Tech Support are 2nd to none. Great reviews on the Crucial sitcks I mentioned too.

Sound - Sound Blaster X-fi Fatal1ty Champion ($120)
This package comes with front drive bay connections, 7.1 support, and remote.

Keyboard/Mouse - Razer brand. Made for gaming.

Monitor - Samsung 226bw. 1680x1050, 2ms response, 3000:1 contast ratio. I got mine for $260 :-) Get a 22" monitor. The 24" monitors are VERY nice, but cost twice as much as a 22".

Motherboards - I suggest waiting on the next generation of chipsets to come out. Intel has an X48 (CrossfireX support) due to be released the first of January, NVidia nForce 780i (DDR2) and 790i (DDR3) SLI chipsets are due by the end of the month. Look at offerings from ASUS and EVGA. (ASUS already has a 780i posted on their site).

CPU - PENRYN! Penryn quads (Yorkfield) are supposed to be out in January. These are Intel's next-gen 45nm cpus, and the last generation of socket 775. The first Penryn quad was released last month - the QX9650. A true monster @ $1200 :-(. The mainstream quads will be much more affordable.

I can't make a solid recommendation on video cards yet. ATI surfaced again with a decent card last month. By February, both NVidia and ATI will have new cards. Will have to see what unfolds there.

This is what I'm in the middle of: http://www.notebookforums.com/thread208418.html

This is what GBQ is in the middle of: http://www.notebookforums.com/thread203535.html
His rig should be an overclockers dream - and he has some nice pics too.
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post #9 of 60
12/12/07 at 9:56am
Oh forgot to add in a PSU idea.

I suggest the 700+w TT PSU's. Good reliability, solid build, and the 120mm fan makes it virtually silent. That's my main thing against the PC P&C, the 90mm rear fan in a high end PSU tends to be quite loud which gets irritating to me (hence why I like the TT case as well, big silent 250mm side fan)
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post #10 of 60
12/12/07 at 5:06pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GBrilliantQ View Post
780i motherboard for SLI coming real soon.
The new 9000 series video cards are coming in Feb, which should lower the price down of those GTX's, Ultra's
Do you want a Quad Core or dual core? AMD, Intel?

What about Storage space?

From what I'm hearing the new high end 9000 series from nvida should be better than two sli ultra's, with just a single card. Something to think about..

Screen size? You can go higher than 17in. I'd say 22-24in would be the sweetspot.

What about the OS? Vista, XP both? linux ?

i'm with you on the motherboard.

what do we suspect that the 9000 gpu cards will cost?

i was thinking dual core, but i am not really savvy on operational differences between different processors

250 to 500 gigs of hd seem like more than enough, and i could always plug in more

xp, if only because it has been stable for me, never messed around with linux

22" screens are actually affordable?
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post #11 of 60
12/12/07 at 5:11pm
Thread Starter 
i dont have a whole lot of internet time down here, as compared with previous seasons but i will try to be prompt with my responses.

this morning i will look at the cases that were mentioned and is there a concensus on what level of power supply would actually be needed for my need? i plan on not overclocking.

would a 400 to 500w power supply be more than enough?
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post #12 of 60
12/12/07 at 5:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by darthmorgoth View Post
i'm with you on the motherboard.

what do we suspect that the 9000 gpu cards will cost?

i was thinking dual core, but i am not really savvy on operational differences between different processors

250 to 500 gigs of hd seem like more than enough, and i could always plug in more

xp, if only because it has been stable for me, never messed around with linux

22" screens are actually affordable?

22" lcd's

Harddrive

I haven't got a clue, but it's going to be alot.

In Feb Intel will be rolling out the rest of their penyrn cpu's. That will most likely bring the prices of current dual/quads down.



What I've done so far, is buy everything I know won't really change in price or get any better.. Like all of my fans, soundcard, psu, my case...etc. I'm leaving cpu, motherboard and graphic cards last.
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post #13 of 60
12/12/07 at 6:37pm
400 or 500w PSU's are cutting it way too close to the need. You'll want at least a 600w high quality PSU, and more really because the 9 series could be power whores.
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post #14 of 60
12/12/07 at 6:59pm
I think this will help you with power supplies.

I like the ranking structure. It's a "This power supply works great with these components" vs. fanboism.
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post #15 of 60
12/12/07 at 7:25pm
Thread Starter 
ok gbrill.....

now i assume that the 900 series will be like $700 plus when they come out; i was initially looking at the 8800s:

xfx geforce 8800 gtx $500

bfg geforce 8800 gtx $530

these might be currently out of my price range until the 9000 series comes out, but wouldnt these cards still make a robust system?
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post #16 of 60
12/12/07 at 7:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pdonket View Post
400 or 500w PSU's are cutting it way too close to the need. You'll want at least a 600w high quality PSU, and more really because the 9 series could be power whores.

ok, i do want to be able to upgrade periodically........i'll factor in a 600w
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post #17 of 60
12/12/07 at 8:40pm
Be careful on exactly which power supply you choose. Some of the video cards out there require 24-28amp from +12.0v. Make sure the power supply you choose has at least that much on one of the 12v connectors if on multiple rails. There are some power supplies that have large single rails, essentially eliminating this concern.

As far as video cards go - any high end card will be expensive. Fortunately, both ATI and NVidia have recently released good mid-to-high end cards (ATI HD 3870, NVidia 8800GT w/G92 chip) with good initial release prices. While prices of boths cards have crept up (can't keep the cards in stock anywhere), the next release from both chip makers in the same segment to the uBer segment will drive prices down.

ATI has a dual-core version of their card purportedly coming out in January-February (HD3870X2), and so does NVidia (8850GTX2).

Down the road:
Possibly Feb 8900, 9800

The remainder of 2008 (guessing) 9850, 9900, and 9950.

I have specific card names from the EVGA site, if interested.
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post #18 of 60
12/12/07 at 9:29pm
Most people will say to get an AMD system for gaming. I am a fan of Intel mobos, and get yourself a good powerful power supply. Antec possibly.
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post #19 of 60
12/12/07 at 9:38pm
Thread Starter 
buck47

you say that the penryn quds are the last socket 775s, so for any upgrade i would have to invest in a new mb down the road?

in any case, im intruiged......would these be far more advanced than a dual cores' operation?

PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750 $160...this seems reasonable, initially i was thinking that 400-500w was going to be sufficient but i might as well be prepared.
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post #20 of 60
12/12/07 at 9:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tbarrett View Post
Most people will say to get an AMD system for gaming. I am a fan of Intel mobos, and get yourself a good powerful power supply. Antec possibly.
Not anymore.
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